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Master swimmer gains sports star status

Courtesy of Bonnie Sortire Nana Whalen qualified for the National Senior Olympics the day after being inducted into the South Carolina Senior Sports Hall of Fame.

Courtesy of Nana Whalen Every swimmer needs a fan club and Nana Whalen's groupies are, from left, her son Tim and granddaughter Erin Whalen, sister Carol Lustig and daughter-in-law Terri Whalen.

Courtesy of Nana Whalen The four members of the Georgia National Swim Team (GAJA) became the number one relay team at the meet at the 2011 Nationals at Auburn University and in the country are Dolores Petmecky, Nana Whalen, June Callaway and Anne Dunivin. The women earned All-American status

Gwyneth J. Saunders/The Sun Today Nana Whalen shows off the ring presented to her and the other inductees into the South Carolina Senior Sports Hall of Fame on May 17.

Gwyneth J. Saunders/The Sun Today Nana Whalen looks at her collection of swim event pins and patches she has collected since beginning competitive swimming in 1997.

Courtesy of Nana Whalen Master swimmer Nana Whalen examines her medals following her participation in the United States Master Swimmer National Long Course Meet in 2011 at Auburn University.

Nana Whalen's entrance into the South Carolina Senior Sports Hall of Fame stemmed from her mother's gift of swimming.

Whalen, 74, was inducted May 17 into the hall and joined 15 other state seniors who have been so honored since the recognition began in 2008.

"I learned to swim when I was 7. It was the best gift my mother ever gave me," she said. The little girl would take the bus from a stop near her home, transfer to a city bus, get off and walk several blocks to the YWCA.

Whalen, 74, never swam competitively in those pre-Title IX days when athletics for women were almost non-existent. She studied elementary education with a minor in psychology at Ohio State University preparing to teach but "I was not ready to settle down into the classroom," she said.

Scanning the newspapers, she decided to apply as a TWA airline hostess and spent time flying in and out of La Guardia and Idlewild, N.J., modeling bridal gowns for B. Altman in her spare time.

After marrying her late husband John and starting a family, they formed the St. Andrew's swim team in Anne Arundel, Md. Whalen spent her time on the side of the pool timing swimmers and tying up bathing suits rather than in the water.

When the Whalens first visited Sun City, they weren't really looking, Whalen said, but one thing stood out — the Purrysburg pool — and in 1997 the decision to move was made.

"I was so thrilled to have that pool," she said.

It felt good to be back in the water swimming, Whalen said. When she and John one day spotted a form for the state's senior games, she entered just to see what it she could do.

"I got my first medals and I was hooked," she said. "Then I heard people talking about nationals and Disney World. It was part of the Olympic movement and I learned you could swim six events at the nationals."

Learning new tricks

There were 50 people in her age category swimming freestyle and back strokes and she ended up with a ribbon for sixth place.

"When I found out only 13 people were swimming the butterfly, I went home and taught myself the butterfly, stroke by stroke," Whalen said. Her persistence resulted in her being named an All-American after the 2011 nationals, finishing with the top time in the country in her age group.

Her swimming prowess, however, is not the only reason she was nominated by Sun City's Fitness Director Cherie Bronsky and other residents.

"It's her dedication to sports and physical fitness in general. She was overweight and started getting into exercise. She made a commitment to herself to get healthier and then got into competitive sports," Bronsky said.

Whalen also teaches therapeutic water classes in the pool and has done so since 2000 — first at the Bluffton Pool and then in Sun City. She travels to different seminar sites once a year to learn new techniques, bringing those lessons back to her students. Many of those taking her classes are post-polio, or deal with chronic diseases such as Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis or arthritis, or are recovering from knee and hip surgery. Bronsky has had occasion to watch Whalen work with her students.

"She's got phenomenal stories. She keeps index cards on each student's needs. She works with them individually if necessary, keeps tabs on them. If they don't show up she calls to make sure they are alright," Bronsky said. "She's very dedicated in providing a support net so they don't fall off to the side and sometimes that's what people need — that someone cares about them in helping them get physically fit, too."

Between changing the way she and her family ate and her dedication to health and fitness, Whalen has found a way to pay back her mother's gift.

"Swimming and teaching have shaped my life. My happiness, my feeling of fulfillment comes from seeing people learn to live well, live better and live pain free," she said. "Every day I watch small miracles happen in our Sun City pool. I watch people become healthy and happy."